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One of the puzzles in J. R. R. Tolkien\u2019s Hobbit<\/a> and Lord of the Rings<\/a> sagas is who\u2013or what\u2013is Tom Bombadil<\/a>?<\/p>\n The jovial forest-dweller is a \u201cmerry fellow\u201d who lives in a homey, cozy cabin similar to that of hobbits, but he has immense power.\u00a0 He makes short work of barrow-wrights and Old Man Willow, and, mysteriously, the Ring of Power has no power over him.\u00a0 Instead of hiding it as he usually does, Frodo feels like giving it to him.\u00a0 And when he slips it on, he doesn\u2019t disappear<\/em>!<\/p>\n Who is this guy?\u00a0 He isn\u2019t an elf or a dwarf or a human or a hobbit or a wizard.\u00a0 He is too earthy to be an Ainur or a Valar or one of the other spiritual beings in the Silmarillion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tolkien wrote a poem about him, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil<\/a>, but he doesn\u2019t discuss him in the Silmarillion.\u00a0 Peter Jackson didn\u2019t so much as include him in his movie versions of Tolkien\u2019s tales.<\/p>\n My wife Jackie once went to a conference where she met Christopher Tolkien, the son of the great fantasy author who edited and published many of his father\u2019s manuscripts.\u00a0 She asked him where Tom Bombadil fit into the Middle Earth universe.\u00a0 The younger Tolkien said that this is an excellent question, but that he didn\u2019t really know.\u00a0 UPDATE:\u00a0 My wife informs that I got this wrong.\u00a0 She did meet Christopher Tolkien, but didn\u2019t ask him this.\u00a0 She asked Clyde Kilby, who worked with both Tolkien and Lewis, and got this answer.<\/p>\n Some critics, picking up on a hint from Tolkien, said that he was some kind of spirit of a place.\u00a0 But that hardly explains his power.\u00a0 Some critics pick up on his wife Goldberry\u2019s answer when Frodo asked her about him:\u00a0 \u201cHe is.\u201d\u00a0 That sounds like how God identifies Himself to Moses\u2013\u201cI am who I am\u201d (Exodus 3:14)\u2013 so they maintain that Tom represents God<\/em>.\u00a0 But Tolkien dismissed that interpretation.\u00a0 After all, Tom is described as being basically indifferent to the intrigues of Middle Earth, and at the Council of Elrond when someone solving the problem of the Ring by giving it to Bombadil, Gandalf says that he would be so uninterested in the thing that he would probably just misplace it.\u00a0 That\u2019s not how God would be.<\/p>\n But I just came across a post from a fan at GameRant that offers the best explanation that I have come across. From Melissa C., Who Is Tom Bombadil And What Is His Significance In LOTR?:<\/a><\/p>\n Tom Bombadil\u2019s exact age is not known, but it is said he existed since sometime before the first Dark Lord (Melkor) rose to power. His exact race is not known, and he remains mysterious\u2014although with some apparent magical and spiritual abilities. Tom Bombadil lived with his wife, Goldberry, just east of the Shire in the Old Forest. He has a few titles, like The First and Eldest. In the book, Tom even states that he \u201cwas here before the river and the trees\u201d and he \u201cremembers the first raindrop and the first acorn,\u201d suggesting he may have been\u00a0the very first creature to live in Middle Earth<\/a> (along with Treebeard, though Tom was first). Being so old and in seemingly good health, Tom Bombadil is an enigma. In addition to being the first living creature to exist in Middle Earth, Tom may also be the first creature in all of Arda\u2014or the world. . . .<\/p>\n Each race gave Tom Bombadil a different name, but the name given by the Elves\u2014Iarwain Ben-adar, which meant Oldest and Fatherless in Elven\u2014says a lot.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So Tom Bombadil would be the equivalent of Adam!\u00a0 \u00a0Not the father of all living, since, unlike our world, Middle Earth has many kinds of intelligent beings.\u00a0 Imagine what an unfallen Adam would be like!\u00a0 If he hadn\u2019t sinned, he would not die.\u00a0 His dominion over the natural order would be complete.\u00a0 As age after age passed away for him, he would be unlikely to care too much about the transitory affairs of the rest of us.<\/p>\n His literary creator did say one more thing about him that is important:\u00a0 \u201cEven in a mythical Age,\u201d he wrote in a letter, \u201cthere must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally)\u201d.<\/p>\n In his imaginary sub-creation, Tolkien does not make everything cut and dry, creating a closed rational system.\u00a0 Rather, he stimulates our imagination by deliberately building in enigmas\u2013mysteries\u2013which add to our sense of wonder.<\/p>\n And so it is in our real world.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n